Net for basketball goal



May 7, 1940. .1. H. BENNETT NET FOR BASKETBALL GO'AL Filed July 8, 1939 Fzai m a n *v im m m 1% kw a justly earned gen.

Patented May 7, 1940 UNITED STAT ES PATE'N T d OFFICE I roe 'eAsKErsm eon ilo'se'ph H. Bennett, Worcester, Mass. Application July 8, 1939, serial No. 28.2;490

12 Glaiins. (o1. era-1.5)

This invention relates to gbalfnet's for use in basketball and it is the general object (if the invention to provide an efficient and durable net which will retain its length and shape without entangling or wearing the ball and will by its weight retard the ball to give improved indication that a goal has been scored, together with other advantages to be pointed euthereinafter. Hereto'fore, nets have been constructed of cord made of textile fibres, but such a net is nexible enough to wrap around and wear the surface of a ball passing through it. The wrapping of the net may reverse the course of the ball and actuan throw it back so that a player is denied These defects are due to the flexibility and light weight of the old type of 'net. Furthermore, the ball will frequently pass through 'a cord net without being retarded and a referee at a distance has difficulty in making a correct decision. Cord nets also stretch with an accompanying change in shape which is not only unsightly but interferes with proper passage therethrough of the ball and comes within reach or the players.

" It is an important object of m invention to correct these various defects by providing metal links connected together to form 'a net having none of the foregoing disadvantages. The links retain their shape and have only a tangential contact with the ball, hence do not fit closely enough to score the ball surface. The ball slides along the metal links without becoming closely wrapped in them and as a result the ball is never thrown out of the net. The links are of sufficient 5 weight to impede the passage of the ball sufficiently to cause a visible retardation which assists the referee to call a goal correctly. Since my net is metallic it retains it shape and length and will not sag to a length which permits reaching 0 by the average player. The opening at the bottorn of my net remains the same diameter and always allows the ball to pass through. In addition, a ball passing through my net will cause a metallic sound which gives an audible signal that a goal has been scored.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in theconibination and arrangemerit of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

in the ac'coir'n'aanying drawing, wherein t'wo "convenient embodiments of my invention are set forth, v

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a net made accord- 5 mg to the preferred fdi'ih Oflhy invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view "of a portion of the net Shown in Fig. 1,

Fig.3 shows the tangential contact between the ball and a 11111;, w v v Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section on line 4 t,"5 Fig. '2', o

Fig. 5 is a view similar to a part of Fig. 4 but before the suspension eye is closed,

Fig. 6 indicates diagrammatically how the ball and net may be related when a goal is scored, 7 '10 '7 is a. view similar to the upper part of Fig.2 but showing a modified form of "suspension for the net, and k N Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8+8; Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing. the back them ill i5 may be supported in any approved manner and has mounted thereon a hoop ll formed if desired of a curved round rod 12. At spaced in tervals along the ring are suspension eyes 13 which may have rounded upper ends M propori 7 tioned to fit the hoop 12, as suggested in Fig.5.

The lower ends of the e'yeare hooked. as at I5, and when these hooks are bent together to the shape shown in Fig. 4, shoulders it below the hoop form a neck It or less width than the 1 diameter of rod H to limit upward displacement .of the eyes. The lower ends of the hooks are rounded as at H and collectively these rounded ends I! provide the immediate support for the 7 net designated at N. r an Each eye l3 passes through a wire ring 21) which in turn passes through eyelets 2| formed on the adjacent ends of a straight wire link 22. Link 22 ishorizontal and its length is determined by the top diameter of the net and the number '5 of links used. Other links 23 having eyelets 25 are suspended from the rings 20, as shown in Fig. 2. Links 23 are formed of straight wire and are held diagonally by having their lower eyelets pass through other rings 25 lower than rings at 20. Still other links-30 with eyelets 3| interconnected with rings 32arearranged as shown in the lower part of Fig. 2'. v

The lowest rings 32 pass through eyelets 35 of horizontal links 36 which are shorter than the top horizontal links 22. There are the same number of long links 22 and short links 36, but the shorter bottom links form an opening of less diameter than that at the top of the net. The diagonal links hang naturally to form a downwardly tapered net the form of which is determined by the length of the bottom links 36. The

diagonal links tend by gravity .to hang under ring H but are drawn to the positions shown in Fig. 1 by short links 3'6 to form a frustro-conical net symmetrical about a vertical axis.

The rings turn in the eyelets during use and thus distribute wear. The freedom of the rings to turn in the eyelets provides a rolling contact between the ball and rings when the latter are struck by the ball. The eyelets are all so placed that their smooth parts are on the inside of the net to avoid abrasion of the ball surface, see Fig. 3.

Whenever the ball, indicated at B in Fig. 3, strikes a link the contact is tangential, as shown in that figure, and the actual contact between the ball and the net is limited to a few points of tangency with wires which may be plated to prevent rust and keep them smooth. The wire of which the links are made is sufiiciently thick to prevent bending of the links when struck by the ball and there is no appreciable wrapping of the net around the ball.

When the ball strikes one side of the net, as shown in Fig. 6, the weight of the links on the opposite side causes a retardation of the ball which is clearly visible, and this, together with the metallic clank of the links and rings, afford both visual and audible evidence that a goal has been scored.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I show a modified form of suspension for the net. The hoop 40 corresponding to hoop II has depending therefrom a series of wire attaching hooks 41 each formed as shown in Fig. '7 with two spaced sides 42 secured to the underside of the hoop 40. The lower part of hook M has a central rebent part 43 the ends of which are spaced from the adjacent vertical sides 42 and project to a position to the left of the sides 42 as shown in Fig. 8. A hanger 45 for each hook 4! is U-shaped and has eyelets 46 at the upper ends thereof. A cotter pin 4'! passes through the eyelets 46 and the rebent section 43 by which it is held. Each hanger pivots around its pin and passes through one of the rings 29, in this way supporting the net, which may be made as in the preferred form of the invention. By this construction the top of the hoop M! is smooth and uninterrupted.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a basketball net made of metallic links and rings possessing several advantages. The net does not wrap around the ball and is of sufficient weight to retard the ball. Turning of the rings distributes wear and the short bottom horizontal links give the net its necessary conical form. All the diagonal links are of the same length and their metallic nature produces an audible signal when a goal is scored. The metal links insure retention of the original length of the net and the latter hangs naturally because of the freedom of the joints and the uniform length and weight of the diagonal links. Numerous tests show that the net will not reverse the direction of the ball to throw it out of the top rings.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a basketball net, a supporting hoop, a horizontal series of alternated rings and metallic links below the hoop, means to connect the rings to the hoop, an open mesh formed of diagonal links connected loosely to vertically spaced horizontal series of connecting rings, and horizontal links shorter than the first named links and alteraieaeoe nated with and loosely connected to the rings of the lowest series.

2. In a basketball net, a supporting hoop, spaced suspension eyes depending from the hoop, a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal series of spaced metallic rings, horizontal metallic links alternated with the. rings of the top series, other shorter horizontal metallic links alternated with the rings of the bottom series, and diagonal metallic links extending between the rings of adjacent series, each ring of each of' the series between the top and bottom series being connected to two diagonal rings thereabove. and two other diagonal links therebelow, the rings of'the top series being connected to the suspension eyes.

3. In a basketball net, a supporting hoop, spaced suspension eyes depending from the hoop, a metallic ring loosely connected to each eye, horizontal metallic links alternated with and loosely connected to the rings, vertically spaced horizontal series of diagonal links, two diagonal links from each series of links connected to each ring of the series, a ring loosely connecting the lower ends of. each pair of links in the bottom series, and a horizontal series of metallic links alternated with and loosely attached to the rings connected to said pairs of links and shorter than the first named horizontal links.

4. In a basketball net, a supporting hoop, spaced suspension eyes depending from the hoop, vertically spaced alternated horizontal series of metallic rings and metallic diagonal links, horizontal metallic links loosely connecting and alternated with the rings of the top series of rings,

and other shorter horizontal metallic links loosely connecting and alternated with the rings of the bottom series of rings, each ring in each series between the top and bottom ring series being connected to two diagonal links of adjacent link series, and the rings of the top ring series being loosely connected to the eyes.

5. In a basketball net, a supporting hoop, spaced suspension eyes depending from. the hoop, vertically spaced horizontal series of rings, each ring of the top series loosely connected to a sus- 45 pension eye, horizontal metallic links loosely connected to and alternated with the rings of the top series, shorter horizontal metallic links loosely connected to and alternated with the rings of the bottom series, and other metallic links extending between adjacent ring series, each of said other links loosely connected to a ring in one ring series and to another ring in the adjacent ring series.

6. In a basketball net, a supporting hoop,

spaced suspension eyes depending from the hoop,

vertically spaced horizontal series of rings, each ring of the top series loosely connected to a suspension eye, horizontal metallic links loosely connected to and alternated with the rings of the top series, shorter horizontal metallic links loosely connected to and alternated with the rings of the bottom series, and other metallic links extending between adjacent ring series, each ring being loosely connected to four links.

'7. In a basketball net, a fixed supporting ring,

a series of horizontal metallic links, connectingtom tier, and horizontal metallic links alternated with and loosely connected to the bottom rings.

8. In a basketball net, a horizontal supporting hoop, a series of spaced rings arranged in a horizontal plane under the hoop, means to suspend the rings from the hoop, a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal series of rings below the first series, and a plurality of wire links having eyelets on their ends,each eyelet receiving a ring, certain of the-links being horizontal and alternated with the rings of the first series of rings, otherflshorterllinks being horizontal and altermated with the rings of the lowest series of rings, and still other of the links extending diagonally between the rings of adjacent series, each ring of the first and bottom series being connected to a pair of diagonal links and each ring of the other series connected to a pair thereabove and another pair thereunder of the diagonal links.

9. In a basketball net, a horizontal supporting hoop, a series of spaced rings supported by the hoop, a plurality of other series of rings arranged in vertically spaced horizontal planes under the first series, and a plurality of rigid links having eyelets on their ends, each eyelet receiving a ring, certain links being horizontal and alternated with the rings of the first series, other shorter links being horizontal and alternated with the rings of the lowest series of rings, and still other of the links extending diagonally between the rings of the adjacent series of rings, each ring of the first and bottom series being connected to a pair of diagonal links and each ring of the other series connected to two pairs of diagonal links, one pair thereabove and the other pair thereunder.

10. In a basketball net, a horizontal supporting hoop, a series of spaced hooks depending from the underside of the hoop, a hanger having spaced eyelets for each hook, a pin passing through the eyelets of each hanger and also the corresponding hook, and a netformed of interconnected rings and wire links, each hanger passing through and supporting a ring of the net.

11. In a basketball net, a horizontal supporting hoop, a series of spaced rings supported by v diagonally between the rings of adjacent series of rings, each ring of the first and bottom series being connected to apair of diagonal links and each ring of the other series connected to two pairs of diagonal links, one pair thereabove and the other pair thereunder, the diagonal links being all of the same length.

12. In a basketballnet, a horizontal supporting hoop, a series of spaced rings supported by the hoop, a plurality of other series of rings arranged in vertically spaced horizontal planes under the first series, and a plurality of rigid links having eyelets on their ends, each eyelet receiving a ring, certain links being horizontal and alternated with the rings of the first series, other shorter links being horizontal and alternated with the rings of the lowest series of rings, and still other of the links extending between adjacent series of rings, each ring of the series between the first and bottom series bein connected to four of said still other'links.

JOSEPH H. BENNETT. 

